Ernest Hawkins was a Byzantinist and a mosaics conservator. He joined the Byzantine Institute in 1938, assisting Thomas Whittemore and leading the field team that restored the mosaics at Hagia Sophia.Field Director for the Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks. After Whittemore's death, Hawkins worked for Paul Underwood, eventually becoming Field Director and Research Associate at Dumbarton Oaks. A conservative restorer, Hawkins never repainted or altered mosaics, and preferred to leave them in their original positions rather than resetting them. He published extensively in the Dumbarton Oaks Papers and was married to Hilda Routen.